laundry

noun

laun·​dry ˈlȯn-drē 

ˈlän-

plural laundries

1

a

: a room for doing the family wash

b

: a commercial laundering establishment

2

: clothes or linens that have been or are to be laundered

Examples of laundry in a Sentence

There's a pile of dirty laundry in the laundry basket.

The patients' sheets are sent regularly to the hospital laundry.

Recent Examples on the Web

Meditation, deep breathing, physical exercise or something as simple as doing laundry can interrupt the cycle of anxious searching. — Rachel Hale, USA Today, 19 July 2026

Embracing New Capabilities And Categories The future with physical AI is not just a robot folding laundry or a mechanical arm performing parcel sorting in a warehouse. — Beena Ammanath, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026

Paltrow’s Goop Home has already released a line of cookware, decor, laundry, garden and home design items. — Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 17 July 2026

There is also an in-unit laundry and a deeded parking space in the garage at the rear of the property. — Rachel Freundt, Chicago Tribune, 17 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1577, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing laundry

• air one's dirty laundry
• dirty laundry
• do the/one's laundry
• laundry list
• load of laundry

Kids Definition

laundry

noun

laun·​dry ˈlȯn-drē 

ˈlän-

plural laundries

1

: clothes or linens that have been or are to be laundered

2

: a place where laundering is done

Etymology

from an obsolete word launder (noun) "one who washes clothes," derived from early French lavandier (or lavandiere) "a man (or woman) who washes clothes," from Latin lavandus "needing to be washed," from lavare "to wash" — related to lavatory, lavish, lotion